Devils advocate: Sell me on why I would want to live in some of these locations? I randomly picked San Angelo and just by looking at the map it seems like a death sentence. No where close to a major city, body of water, mountain, national park,etc I'm sure there are some good reasons to live there but on my superficial research Im not seeing it.

I can see living in a place like Colorado Springs: Close to Mountains (Beauty), Major city (Culture), Major Airport (Travel)

My thought was more that the middle class in these small cities is not diverse, and those who do not match the blueprint will have some difficulty with developing social ties in the business community (and the broader community).

My thought was more that the middle class in these small cities is not diverse, and those who do not match the blueprint will have some difficulty with developing social ties in the business community (and the broader community).

Devils advocate: Sell me on why I would want to live in some of these locations? I randomly picked San Angelo and just by looking at the map it seems like a death sentence. No where close to a major city, body of water, mountain, national park,etc I'm sure there are some good reasons to live there but on my superficial research Im not seeing it.

I can see living in a place like Colorado Springs: Close to Mountains (Beauty), Major city (Culture), Major Airport (Travel)

Chattanooga I heard good things about.

I have a number of friends from San Angelo. It sounded like a decent place. Some moved back there after college. It has a university so they have cultural events that that brings as well as sporting events to attend.

It's an easy drive to skiing in New Mexico, about 8 hours. It is also only a 5 hour drive to Big Bend National Park.

My thought was more that the middle class in these small cities is not diverse, and those who do not match the blueprint will have some difficulty with developing social ties in the business community (and the broader community).

Yes, I have experienced the discrimination first hand in two of the cities on this list.

I am a gay white male (raised in Mississippi) who was partnered for about 8 years with an amazingly kind "non-white" man who is generally assumed to be Muslim.

We had experiences in two of the cities on this list that left us never wanting to return.

We were told a nationally branded hotel was 'over-booked' even though we had called to reserve a room about 30 minutes prior. I chose not to make an issue of it in the moment (I had elite status with the particular hotel brand.), and addressed it later through the national office.

In another case, we were continually passed over in the reservation list in a restaurant.

As someone who presents as stereotypical straight and white, I never really experienced subtle discrimination until I was seen with my partner. The first year together was a tough time for me as I learned first hand the indignity he had experienced his entire life.